Goveknob



W. M. WHITE.

GOVERNOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, |918.

1,369,863. j Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

, UNITI-:o STATES WILLIAM MONROE WHITE, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

GOVERNOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

Original application led September 15, 1917, Serial No. 191,890. Dividedand this application led September 5, 1918.

'To all fr0/wm it may concern Be it `known that l, WILLIAM MONROE VHITE,a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county ofMilwaukee and State of Visconsin, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Governors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements 1n speed governors forenergy-translating machines. f

An object of the invention is to provide a speed governor which issimple in construction and efhcient in operation.

One of the more specific objects of the invention is to provide simpleand efficient means for transmitting motion from the weights or fiyballs of a centrifugal governor to the mechanism controlled thereby.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a speed governorespecially adapted for direct connection to the mainshaft of an energytranslating device. lVhile the governor of the present invention isdirectly applicable to either horizontally or vertically disposedshafts, its application to the vertical main shafts of direct connectedvertical hydro-electric energytranslating machines is especiallydesirable since such application permits reduction to a minimum of theOverall height of the powerhouse. It is customary in the construction ofvertical hydro-electric units to mount the generators directly upon themain shafts above the turbines. Traveling cranes' located above thegenerators serve to handle heavy machine parts during installation andin case removal of such parts is necessary. The location of these cranesdepend upon the length of shafting between the turbines and thegenerators, and the height of the building is determined by Vthelocation of the crane. 'It is therefore desirable to make the distancebetween the generators and the turbines. as short as' possible, in orderto reduce to a minimum the overall height and hence thecost ofconstructionof the building. ln existing designs of hydro-electricunits, the governors are ordinarily driven by'ymeans'` Ofhorizontaljack'shafts which are driven lby bevel gearing associateddirectly withthe main shafts of the units.y In` order to permitinspection of this gearing and to eliminate danger of injury by contactwith the revolving jack shafts, it is neces- Serial No. 253,111.`

sary to allow a considerable space above the floor of' the turbine pitand below the horizontal jack shafts. The allowance of this shafts andalso in most cases necessitates making the supports for the generatorsconsiderably larger and heavier than would otherwise be necessary. Byutilizing the present invention, the horizontal jack shafts andconnecting gearing are eliminated, the governors being mounted directlyupon the main shafts, thereby permitting utilization of relatively short main shafts, eliminating danger of injury during inspection andreducing to a minimum the overall height of the units and of thepowerhouse.

The present application is a division of application` Serial Number191,890, filed September 15, 1917. n

A clear conception of several embodiments of the invention may be had byreferring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of thisspecification in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts in the various views.

'Figure 1 is a diagrammaticpart sectional view of a hydro-electricinstallation having vspace necessitates lengthening the main a governormounted directly upon the main f shaft thereof between the turbine andthe generator. i I

, F 2 isan enlarged part sectional front elevation of a governor mounteddirectly upon the main vertical shaft of an energ translating device..

Fig. 3 is ra fragmentary diagrammatic part sectional view of ahydro-electric installation showing a modified form of governormotion-transmitting mechanism.

The hydro-electric installation to which the governor is disclosed asapplied in Fig. 1, comprises an energy-translating device or Francisturbine 5 direct connected to the The dispipes 8 to the servo-motor 9.The mecha- Y nism 7 as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 is controlled by meansof the speed governor through a bifurcated bell crank 17 pivotallymounted upon a stationary casing 190, and a motion-transmittingconnect-ion 6 housed within a'protecting casing ortube 18. rThe shaft 1is provided with a main bearing between the turbine 5 and generator l,preferably directly below the speed governor.

The speed governor, see Fig. 2, comprises a movable element or vcollar 3surrounding but spaced slightly from the main shaft 1, and a pair ofdiametrically opposite weights 2 pivotally suspended from a collar fixedto the main shaft 1. Each of the weights 2 has an integral projection 19extending inwardly from the upper end thereof and pivotally 'connectedto the supporting ring on the main shaft 1. rlie weights 2 are connectedwith the movable velement or collar 3 by means of links 14,'which linkstogether with the weight projections 19 constitute diametricallyopposite toggle connnections between the shaft 1 and the collar 3. Thecollar 3 is also connected to the main shaft 1 by means of diametricallyopposite toggles `consisting of upper links 15 pivoted directly to thecollar 3 and lower links 16 pivoted to the fixed shaft collar andpivotally connected to the links 15. The links 14, 15, 16 and theweights 2 are of considerable width measured transversely of the shaft1, thus positively constraining the toggles to motion in planesperpendicular to their connecting pivots. T he governor structurecompletely surrounds and is supported by the main shaft 1. The shaft 1is of uniform crosssection at the portion thereof adjacent the governorthus making its strength unimpaired by the attachment of the governorthereto. Y u

The floating collar 3 is provided with an annular recess 22 within whichbearing shoes 2O carried by extremities'of the bifurcations of thebell-crank 17, are slidable. The recess 22 may be provided with suitablelubricant and the shoes 2O may be providedV with antifriction bearingmeans, in order to reduce `the friction to a minimum.V The weights 2 areconnected to each other by springs 13 located one on each side of theshaft 1, and are prevented from moving in- Y wardly and outwardly beyondpredetermined limiting posit-ions, by means of stops 21 which engageabutment surfaces 'formed on the weights. Excessive outward distortionof the springs 13, due to the action of:V centrifugal force thereon, isprevented by f means of stops 23. n Y

The means for transmitting the governor motion from the bell-crank 17 tothe controlling mechanism 7, disclosed in Fig. 3,

provides for greater overhead clearance in the turbine pit, than isprovided in the arrangement shown inv Fig. 1, and by the devices of theprior art. The motion transmitting mechanism of Fig. 3 comprises a pairof .connections 60, 61 and an idler Ybell-crank 62 pivotally mountedupon a bracket secured to the frame of the generator 4. With thisarrangement of connections and levers, maximum` headroom is providedabove the inspection walk of the turbine pit.

During normal operation of the device disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, themain shaft 1 is rotated by the turbine 5, and the weights 2 of thegovernor are moved outwardly by centrifugal force, against the tensionof the helical springs 13. This outward movement of the weights 2 causesthe pivotal connecV tions between the projections 19 of the weights 2and the links 14 to move upwardly, thereby causing the links 14 to movelongitu dinally of the shaft 1, and to raise the'floating collar 3.During this movement of the weights 2, links 14 and collar 3, thetoggles formed by the links 15, 16 are straightened and prevent movementof the collar 3 transversely of the shaft 1. As the speed of the shaft 1varies, the weights 2 move toward and away from the shaft 1 causing thecollar 3 to assume various positions along the shaft. The motion of thecollar 3 is transmitted through the shoes 20, bifurcated bellcrank 17and connections 6, 60, 61 to the controlling mechanism 7, therebycausing variations in the position of the servo-motor and of the 100guide vanes 10, and regulating the speed of the turbine 5. Thevbifurcated bell crank 17 converts the movement of the collar 3longqitudinally of the shaft 1 into reciprocating f motion of the rodconnections 6, 60, 61 in a 105 direction transverse to the shaft 1,thereby permitting location of therrelay mechanism 7 above the floor ofthe power house and at the side of thel generatork 4. By vutilizingreciprocable governor motion-transmitting 110` connections 6, 60,61'rather than oscillating or rot-ary connections, the number ofbearings for these connections is, reduced to a minimum thus reducing toa minimum the frictional resistance to the motion of such 115connections. u

It will be noted that the toggles consisting of the links 15, 16 aremovable in a pla-ne at right angles to the plane ofmovemen-t of thetoggles consisting of the links 14 and 120 weight projections `19. Theplanes of movement of these two sets of toggles intersect at a straightline which substantially coincides with or is parallel to the `axis ofthe shaft 1, thereby always insuring that the 12,5 collar 3 will Vremainout of engagement with the shaft 1V and thereby eliminating frictionlosses.' The toggleflinks 14, 15, 16 consti? tute the sole means' forsupporting and guiding the collar 3,V thereby reducing` the fric- ',130

f sitiveness of the device.

tion to a minimum and producing a governor of maximum sensitiveness. Thetoggles, so far as their effect is concerned, may be regarded either asthe links 14 constrained at yone end by any structure such as the weightprojections 19, to move the collar 3 longitudinally of the shaft 1, orthey may be considered as comprising the weight pro jections 19 coactingin any manner with the collar 3 to move the same along the shaft 1. Inthe construction disclosed, the effects of the two links constitutingeach toggle, are added. In any case, the toggles whether they be of thesingle or of the double link type, should constitute the sole means forsupporting and guiding the collar 3 in order to reduce to a minimum thefriction. While the toggles are disclosed as arranged in diametricallyopposite pairs, this arrangement being preferred for the purpose ofbalancing the elements, it will be apparent that only two togglesmovable in different planes are essential in order to produce thedesired rectilinear motion.

By mounting the governor directly uponk the main turbine shaft, the useof a special governor supporting shaft is avoided and the speed changesare transmitted directly from the main shaft to the governor fly-balls,thereby reducing friction losses to a minimum. By arranging the governorvertically as disclosed, the elements may be readily balanced, therebyalso enhancing the sen- The elimination of rotating motion transmittingmechanism eliminates danger of injur to operators and permitssubstantial reduction in power house height. The main bearing for theshaft 1 which is located between the turbine 5 and the generator 4 anddirectly adjacent the speed governor, prevents lateral vibration of theshaft 1 and thereby assuring more sensitive regulation than if vibrationof the shaft 1 were unrestrained.

If for any reason it is desired to disconnect the governor and tocontrol the servomotor 9 manually, this may be done by` nection betweenthe governor and the ymotion-transmitting mechanism. The guide vanes 10may then be regulated manually in the usual manner by means ofcontrolling valves such as are ordinarily provided for manual control ofthe servo-motor 9.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact details of construction herein shown and described, forobvious modifications within thev scope of the appended claims may occurto a person skilled in the art.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent: f

1. In combination, a vertical shaft, a hydraulic turbine secured to thelower end of said shaft, relay mechanism for controlling the flow offluid to said hydraulic turbine, an electric generator secured to anupper portion of said shaft, an inspection chamber between said turbineand said generator, a speed governor surrounding and direct-connected tosaid shaft within said chamber, and a reciprocable governor motiontransmitting connection extending fromv said governor to said relaymechanism transversel of said shaft.

2. 13171 combination, a vertical shaft, a hydraulic turbine secureddirectly to the lower end of said shaft, a servo-motor for controllingthe flow of fluid to said turbine, relay mechanism for controlling saidservomotor, an energy translating device secured directly to an upperportion of said shaft, a bearing for said shaft between said turbine andsaid device, a speed governor surrounding said shaft above said bearing,and a reciprocable governor motion transmitting connection connectingsaid governor and said relay mechanism and extending transversely ofsaid shaft. I

' In testimony whereof, the signature of the inventor is aiiixed hereto.

WILLIAM MONROE WHITE.

